The invention relates to a method and system for processing data stored in multiple workstations.
Computer workstations can be used to store large amounts of data. Often, a user desires information that involves processing a subset of data stored on multiple workstations. Generating and displaying the desired information is referred to as a "report". To generate a report, data stored on multiple workstations is sent to a central workstation to process the data. For large amounts of data the central workstation must be very powerful to generate the report in a reasonable time.
Network management is an example of the situation described above. Networks link computers together to allow them to exchange information and communicate with each other over a distance. The networks can be quite large and complex, involving many components and devices that are essential for the services they provide. The tasks of maintaining the network, adding computer resources when needed, reconfiguring the network to support changing patterns of usage and greater user demands, and solving the problems which occasionally occur are typically the responsibility of a network manager. To effectively and efficiently carry out those responsibilities, the network manager must be able to quickly determine how well even the most remote sections of the network are performing and to detect the occurrence of problems or a deterioration in performance that hints at the beginning of more serious problems.
To assist the network manager, elements of the network themselves, or dedicated monitoring devices connected to or embedded within the elements, maintain information on data passing (e.g., volume of data, number of errors) through the elements. A workstation retrieves that information and processes it to generate a report on the performance of the network. For example, reports can list the portions of the network having the greatest volume of data traffic over a specific interval of time. Often, the network manager further specifies that the report only include data relating to selected elements of the network, for example, data relating to communication between the computers belonging to the same company or a department within a company.
Network management is one of many examples where large amounts of data need to be processed efficiently in order to generate desired information in a timely manner.